DRIFT Cup Logatec and Uroš Berdajs

On Sunday, September 22.9.2013, 2, the 9nd Drift Power Cup took place at the Blagomix racetrack in Logatec. As the foggy morning began to clear, the loud engines of the race cars also began to wake up, making sure the surroundings of the racetrack woke up to a sunny morning. At exactly 24:XNUMX a.m., the first racers began the warm-up laps. As the ground was still slightly slippery from the morning dew, quite a few drivers ended up in a cloud of smoke as it turned them around in the corners. That soon changed, as the newly laid track allowed for spectacular drifts and allowed race cars to reach high angles.
Competitors were able to practice drifting with a co-driver, as the DRIFT TAXI took place until the qualifications, where each visitor could indulge in some adrenaline-filled laps in the passenger seat. It doesn't happen every day that you have the opportunity to sit strapped to the seat of a car that drives into a bend at almost 100 km / h… sideways!
From my own experience, I can say that this is one of those moments when all the problems disappear and a huge smile appears on your face and the desire for adrenaline grows.
After the successful qualifiers, twin drifts began. That’s why drift is also so popular, as in this race 2 cars can even be just a few inches apart when driving through a bend and being careful not to collide. After tense matches, Miha Šuštaršič, who won 1st place in his BMW e36 M3, Croatian Ivo Znaor, who landed in 2nd place in the attractive BMW M3 e36, and Uroš Berdajs, who earned 3rd place, took the podium. in the BMW e36 M3 compact.

The event took place without major complications and accidents and both spectators and competitors were able to leave home with a smile on their face.

We conducted a special interview for our website with Uroš Berdajs, who is one of the best Slovenian drifters and achieves better and better results from year to year. This year's season is already the 5th season for him and as he says, he will have many more, if possible. As a child, he went to various races with his parents and friends, and then 5 years ago he decided that he would like to do this sport himself, so he bought his first car, which was a red BMW e30. After three successful seasons, he decided to buy a new race car, but instead of buying a new one, he converted his civilian car into a race car for everyday use.
It was the BMW e36 compact 2.5L that it still uses today, the only difference being that a year ago it replaced the 2.5L engine with a 3.2L engine from the BMW M3, which with its flat 6-cylinder drive enabled 316 horsepower. powers. The last plate on the car reads “thank you Fotr”, as Uroš is accompanied by his father at every race, with whom he does most of the work and repairs on the car. At the end of April 2013, the King of Europe took place in Austria and as Berdajs confided to us, this event has its advantages and disadvantages. There was international participation, drivers also came from other continents, but King
of Europe a much more official event, as all drivers had to stick sponsor stickers on their cars, take photos and in case of an accident (eg the fender on which the sponsor stickers are dropped), the driver must not return to the racetrack until the damage is repaired. The track was also much longer, for which our representatives have engines that are not powerful enough and are difficult to compare with foreign ones that have 500 or 600+ horsepower. Compared to local competitions, the home team is better, as the atmosphere is relaxed and friendly, there is no serious rivalry and sponsorship obligations.
When asked what is more important for race success, a better race car or experience, the answer was quick and thorough. Experience is much more important, as a powerful, inexperienced engine that would tame it is not worth much on the racetrack. He says the rules of drift are simple and straightforward. In the future he does not want or. he expects high goals, because as he says, it is a hobby for him, as competitions are a good reason to socialize and have fun.

Photos: Klemen Bagarič